Foreign grad faces hurdles in registering as doctor

Mumbai: A medical graduate from China, who has passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) and completed the year-long Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) programme, has failed to obtain permanent registration as a medical practitioner from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) despite pursing the matter for close to six months. The council rejected her application for registration twice in 2023 citing a National Medical Commission (NMC) notification dated July 28, 2022, which mandates a two-year internship, leaving her in a state of limbo.

Dr Nayanaa Varsaale, 27, a resident of Borivali, graduated in medicine from China before clearing the FMGE in June 2021. She completed the CMRI at KEM Hospital, Parel, between September 2021 and September 2022, and applied for registration as a medical practitioner on May 8, 2023. But on September 22, 2023, the medical council rejected her application citing the NMC notification, which states that foreign medical graduates who completed their degrees on or before June 20, 2022, require a two-year internship. The notification primarily addressed medical students returning to India due to the Covid-19 pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine war, who were likely to have missed physical clinical training during their time abroad.

Varsaale argues that since she cleared the FMGE in June 2021, more than a year before the notification was issued, it is not applicable to her. She mentioned the same in a letter to the council on September 25, 2023; followed up with another letter on November 6, 2023. Neither letter elicited a response. She also visited the MMC office several times in the intervening period, but officials refused to meet her.

“What is happening is grossly unfair,” said the Borivali resident. “My batchmates who cleared the FMGE after me have received registration, but I am stuck, unable to either practice or pursue higher studies for over a year,” she said, adding that she was thinking of moving the high court to seek justice.

Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) who holds additional charge as an administrator of MMC said that since Varsaale applied for registration after the notification was issued, she would have to fulfil the two-year internship requirement.

“There are several cases like hers, where applicants cleared the FMGE before the NMC notification was issued in July 2022. But we are considering the date on which they applied to MMC for registration. Varsaale applied after the NMC notification, so she will have to complete the two-year internship,” he said. Mhaisekar was appointed administrator of MMC, a quasi-judcial body governing the quality of medical education and ethics in the state, after the tenure of the last committee ended on August 7, 2022.

An ex-MMC member said the administrator/registrar of MMC has the power to consider such cases on an individual basis, check documents and take a decision instead of only relying on NMC guidelines.

“Ideally the administrator/registrar should go through all the documents and if she fulfils all the criteria, she should be given the registration. There are many complaints that are not getting addressed by the MMC in the absence of the 18-member committee because both the administrator and the registrar have additional responsibilities,” said the doctor.

MMC has 1.8 lakh registered doctors and sees 9,000 new registrations annually. At present, close to 500 cases of medical negligence are pending with the council, awaiting hearing.

“Earlier, we used to hold 4-5 hearings in a month. Since the committee has been dissolved, there only 1-2 hearings have been held. The pending medical negligence cases are bound to go up and will discourage people to approach the MMC,” said Dr Shivkumar Utture, ex-president of MMC.